


I'll Defend You (To The End Of My Days)

by SierraElise



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: BAMF Alec Lightwood, Boys In Love, Fluff, Healthy Relationships, Kissing, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Malec Feels All The Way, Post-Episode: s02e10 By The Light Of Dawn, Protective Alec Lightwood, Protectiveness, Slightly Insecure Magnus Bane, Sweet Alec Lightwood, Understanding Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 13:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10764792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SierraElise/pseuds/SierraElise
Summary: "There was true emotion behind Alec’s eyes and every word that left his mouth—loyalty, protectiveness, love—and it transcended through the entire hall. Alec could care less who bared witness to his outburst, he could care less that the Head of the Institute is the one he is yelling at—the only person in the institute that could potentially ruin him for his outburst—and he could care less what anyone thought of him because of this afterwards. This is his boyfriend that they’re objectifying—degrading, judging, and shaming—for what he is. As if the arrogant and self-centered Shadowhunter's in this room had any right to talk."(Or in other words; Aldertree is a dick, Alec is a good boyfriend, Magnus is all-around wonderful, and Malec are so in love it's embarrassing)





	I'll Defend You (To The End Of My Days)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever published fanfiction for anything ever so please take it easy on me. If you see anything that may be wrong, whether informational wise or even spelling wise, please don't hesitate to say something. Also, comments are always welcome as well as criticism so long as it's constructive!  
> This was based off of a prompt that I saw on Tumblr, as well as my own desire for some protective and BAMF Alec in the TV show! I really tried my best to at least have them somewhat in character for this fic but it proved to be extremely difficult so I apologize for any cringyness you might run into! (Note: this includes some incredible abuse of italics. You have been warned)

By the end of the meeting Alec Lightwood was just _done_. Completely, irrevocably done with everything that had anything to do with both the Clave and Victor Aldertree: _especially_ Victor Aldertree.

In hindsight, Alec could imagine it was his own fault for believing that something would change in the way Downworlders were treated at the New York Institute after everything that had happened with the Mortal Sword. But no, nothing changed. Absolutely nothing.

The tones used by Aldertree, as well as many other Clave officials that had spoken at the meeting, had not changed in the slightest. Their lack of sympathy for all the countless, innocent Downworlder lives lost last week had Alec feeling both disgusted and ashamed of his people all at once. The worst part of it was just how... unsurprised he was by it all.

Angry, yes, but surprised? Not really.

He had kept good wraps on his anger, though, in his own—completely unbiased—opinion. He hadn't split his knuckles open on Aldertree's front teeth yet, so he maintains the meeting as both a win and an incredible display of self-control. But he _knew_. He just knew that he wouldn't be able to maintain that satisfaction for long; he never did. It was only a matter of time before Aldertree, or another official, stepped too far over the line enough to throw Alec over the edge of his cool. And the fact of his favorite Warlock—favorite person in general these days, really—having been brought up towards the end of the meeting immediately prepared Alec for what his freak out was going to be over. 

It was an innocent mentioning, truly. They had merely brought up the fact that it would be a wise decision to reinforce the wards after last weeks "incident," as they so bluntly put it, and had claimed Magnus to be the best Warlock for the task as he's done so numerous times before. The topic of conversation wasn't what had Alec's blood beginning to boil, it was how they spoke that pissed the Shadowhunter off. It was how they spoke of the Warlock as if he were some object they had full control over—like Magnus was some sort of device without feelings or a life of his own. It was how Magnus had lost so many people he had called his friends—his family—just a week ago, and not a single Shadowhunter in the room had even an ounce of sympathy, or respect enough to give Magnus some time off from the Institute that held the bodies of his fellow Downworlders just over a week ago. It was how Alec was all too aware of what was going to follow for Magnus after the meeting was over: a demanding of service and shitty pay.

So yes, by the time the meeting had ended and the Clave officials had already left, Alec _was_ seething in a rage, thank you very much. But he had kept it under wraps—

“Alec Lightwood,” Victor halts Alec before he could step any further away, “our wards must be reinforced, call your warlock here.”

_So much for the incredible display of self-control._

Something inside of Alec snapped in that moment though, and anger the likes of which he had never felt before began to bubble up inside of him—not even the anger he felt when he had exploded on everyone when they refused to let him look for Jace, or when he had found Raphael indulging Izzy's yin fen addiction, could compare to it—and suddenly Alec found himself whirling back around to face Aldertree, his fists clenched and his expression seething; barely holding himself back from full-out roundhouse kicking him in the face.

“First,” the Shadowhunter mutters, “he has a name and it most certainly is _not_ “warlock.””

“If you fail to do as I say and get the warlock her-”

“Second,” Alec interrupts him, his voice growing considerably loud enough to the point where other hunters around them began to tune in, “Magnus Bane is his entirely own person. And I will not stand here and allow you to belittle one of the most powerful, intelligent and loving beings in existence, to the term “warlock” as if it’s something to ashamed of.”

“Alexander, enough-”

“Do _not_ call me that.” Alec practically growled, all common-sense that was screaming at him inside his head to shut up—that this is still the current Head of the Institute he is talking to—flying out the window. “Nobody can help how they are born. Nobody can choose who or what they come from. Nobody is at fault for being who they are!” He glares harshly at Victor, “Just because Magnus Bane has demon blood inside of him that gives him the power to even help your sorry ass that, in no way, makes him a demon or any lesser than us just because of your moronic discriminatory beliefs that Downworlders are somehow nothing compared to you.”

Alec steps further away, standing tall and proud as he defended the man that he loved. “Magnus is his own person, and that person just so happens to be the most remarkable and extraordinary being to ever set foot in this Institute. He is greater and far more powerful in every way than any Shadowhunter could ever hope to be, so don’t you _dare_ ever imply that he is anything less than that in front of me again.” Alec growls, no fear or hesitancy being portrayed as he stared at the man before him, refusing to back down.

“I hate to break it to you, Lightwood, but your boyfriend—” the way he said the word ‘boyfriend’, like it were something appalling, made Alec’s blood boil, “—is part demon—”

  
“—He is not,” Alec bellowed, his eyes flashing dangerously. Suddenly, everyone began to back down from the fierce protectiveness and absolute fury that radiated from the Shadowhunter. “He’s a _Warlock_ , and being one does not make him a demon.”

There was true emotion behind Alec’s eyes and every word that left his mouth—loyalty, protectiveness, love—and it transcended through the entire hall. Alec could care less who bared witness to his outburst, he could care less that the Head of the Institute is the one he is yelling at—the only person in the institute that could potentially ruin him for his outburst—and he could care less what anyone thought of him because of this afterwards. This is his boyfriend that they’re objectifying—degrading, judging, and shaming—for what he is. As if the arrogant and self-centered Shadowhunter’s in this room had any right to talk.

Alec took a deep and shaky breath, struggling to hold himself back from clocking Victor in the face. “Magnus Bane is no demon. He is not some mindless warlock slave that must adhere to your every beck and call,” he said, his voice trembling in rage. “Magnus Bane _is_ a Warlock, he _is_ a Downworlder, he _is_ my boyfriend, and he is fucking _magnificent_.”

Alec swiftly turns around at that and begins to walk away from a dumbstruck Aldertree, but abruptly stopped. “You want his help? Try addressing him yourself like a decent person!” Alec paused and then smirked, “And don't forget to add a ‘pretty please’ for good measure.”

Without waiting for a reply that would no doubt send himself into a full blown rage, Alec stormed out of the hall and slammed the door shut behind him, ignoring every shout Aldertree threw at him to “come back at once.” His blood was still boiling, his fists were clenching and unclenching, and his heart hurt for the Warlock he loved so dearly.  
He should have done this so much sooner; how could he not have defended Magnus before? Everything Alec said had been true and honest, at least to him if nobody else, and Alec has always prided himself on being someone who spoke of his opinions loud and clear when needed, but he had never once defended Magnus before this.

Alec didn’t let himself dwell too much on that thought, because he knows now that there will never be another instance where somebody could get away with degrading Magnus Bane in front of him. There would never come a time that Alec wouldn’t stand up for the Warlock, just the same as he did tonight, again.

Alec would defend him to his death, and that’s a promise.

Before he could step all that far away from the hall, though, he felt a hand fall on his shoulder, gentle and warm in its presence. Despite, he turned around, glowering, as he thought it to be Aldertree or another hunter ushering him back into the hall.

“Magnus!” He stared open-mouthed when he turned around, his anger deflating immediately upon setting his eyes on the Warlock. “What are you doing here?”

Magnus smiles at him, and before Alec could smile back he felt a deep pang of worry flare inside of himself as he takes notice of the older’s slightly teary eyes.

“Magnus?” Alec inquired, cutting Magnus off from whatever explanation of his arrival he had and stepping forward, reaching out to gently place his hand on the man’s cheek. Alec’s heart broke as Magnus immediately turned his head to place a wet kiss into Alec’s palm. “Magnus, what’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, Magnus all but flings himself into Alec’s arms, burying his face into the crook of the Shadowhunter’s neck and holding on to him for dear life without a word.

  
Alec was vaguely aware that the action was a lot like his own the day he had thrown himself into Magnus’ arms after the Mortal Sword had been activated. The day that he had proclaimed his love for the man in front of him.

Alec stumbles back, startled, but quickly recovers and wraps his arms securely around Magnus—protective and gentle all at the same time. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he soothes in an immensely soft and loving tone that not even Magnus had yet to hear before. “I got you,” Alec assures him.

 _Thank the Angels for this man_ , Magnus wept internally to himself, _I couldn't have found a better man_.

After a good minute of Alec just holding Magnus—rubbing one of his hands up and down the older’s back soothingly enough to the point that Magnus felt almost all of his walls breaking down from the lovingness he had never felt so strongly bestowed upon him from a lover before—Alec finally begins to pull away, just enough to meet the older’s eyes. “Magnus, please, what’s wrong?”

Alec’s heart was racing, and not just because of the fact that they were wrapped up in each other’s arms, sharing an intimate moment in a very public—very Shadowhunter filled—place, but because he was worried and concerned; Magnus has never seemed so vulnerable before.

Was he in trouble? Had somebody hurt him? His mind snapped at that thought and the half of his brain labeled ‘Shadowhunter’ took over—Angel forbid, was he being hunted? The second he registered the assumption Alec’s mind went into a frenzy and he automatically tensed, his body instinctively preparing itself to fight and defend—

“—I’m okay, Alexander,” Magnus’ voice broke him out of his possibly— more than likely—over dramatic inner turmoil. Magnus had obviously noticed his overreaction, because he was smiling now. His eyes were still teary, but he was smiling. “I’m just… overwhelmed, is all…”

Alec deflates, the furious Angel within him finally subsiding with a soft growl at Magnus’ reassurance, before frowning. “Did… did I do something wrong?” he asks, worry shining bright in his eyes.

“Absolutely not!” Magnus replied, perhaps a little too loudly if Alec’s ringing ears had anything to do with it. “You’ve been so wonderful! And I’ve never… I never thought that you… you thought that highly of me…”

There’s a silent pause between them before it finally clicks in Alec’s mind, and he feels himself blushing profusely. “You heard what I said, didn’t you?”

Magnus nods, smiling. “All of it.” The Warlock took a shaky breath, looking down and then back up at Alec. “Nobody has ever defended me like that—not for who I am... Nobody has ever been so protective of me and so understanding of what I am, not even myself, and I-” Magnus cuts himself off, choking on his words. “Did-Did you really mean…?”

“Every bit of it.” Alec nods. “Everything I said, I meant.”

Magnus stares at him for a little while longer, desperately searching his lover’s eyes for any trace of a lie that he has seen in so many of his partners in the past—the partners that would indulge his need of reassurance just to ensure that they’d still have Magnus all to themselves afterwards; an indulgence that Magnus always found to have been heartbreakingly meaningless later on. But all he found in the Angel’s eyes was a devastating sincerity that had tears returning to Magnus’ own all over again.

Without a second thought, Magnus’ face breaks out into a broad smile and he kisses Alec, their lips touching in a passionate, yet tender kiss that knocked the breath out of the younger. Kisses with Magnus were still so new to him—still so overwhelming—and the way his heart thumped hard against his chest, and the myriad of butterflies that erupted in his stomach, was something Alec doesn’t think he could ever get used to; a fact he had no qualms in accepting.

“Thank you,” Magnus whispered against his lips after some time. “My wonderful Nephilim, thank you.”

“I’m sorry.” Was all Alec could find for a reply.

Magnus pulls away, frowning, “What?”

Alec winces at ruining such a perfect moment, but he had to get this off his chest. “I said that I’m sorry.”

Magnus’ frown only deepened even further. “You have nothing to be sorry for—”

“—I do,” Alec protests, the guilt from earlier resurfacing, “I should have done it sooner. I should never have let them talk about you the way they’ve been doing for weeks now. I should have defended you from the very beginning I just…” Alec trails off, looking down and away from Magnus in both shame and anger at himself. “I’m _so_ sorry.”

“Don’t be,” his boyfriend affirms, “You’ve been so overwhelmed, Alexander, you’ve been so confused and scared by everything that we have—”  
Magnus holds up a hand to silence Alec when he sees the Shadowhunter attempting to speak.  
“—No, Alec, you have been. I know you have been, and that’s okay. For years you’ve been so oppressed, so terrified of who you are, living in the Shadow World’s prejudice society, believing there to be something wrong with you because of the world’s lack of acceptance, and I’m telling you it’s okay to be overwhelmed. It’s okay to be scared.”

Alec looks down. “Still, I should have—”

“—Alexander,” Magnus interrupts immediately, slightly exasperated with the boy in front of him but so immensely fond of him all at once, “it’s alright. You defending not only me, but also every other Warlock and Downworlder out there, means so much to me. You, all on your own, are representing a change in this world that I never thought I’d get to see, and I don’t think your kind heart will ever cease to amaze me, Alexander.”

Alec gives a soft smile, having not even realized that it wasn’t just Magnus that he had defended; even though that was the intention. “Well, get used to it, because I’m never letting anybody say another word against you again,” he admits.

“You might want to be careful,” Magnus teases, trying to ignore the urge to cry at Alec's statement that the Nephilim probably hadn't realized meant the whole world to Magnus, “some people just really do not like me.”

Alec shrugs, “Couldn’t be worse than my mother.”

Magnus blinks, “That is entirely too real of a statement.”

Alec laughs and—because he can—envelopes Magnus, who was laughing all the same, into his arms again, burying his face into the Warlock’s neck, and Magnus wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Alec in return.

The Shadowhunter, with no hesitation, places a soft and innocent kiss to the golden skin of his boyfriend’s neck; a simple affectionate action that had Magnus’ heartbeat speeding up. It caused him great happiness to see Alec growing so comfortable with himself and what they had, and it made Magnus’ heart flutter to think that he’s the only person in the world that has ever been let into this man’s wonderfully beautiful heart like this.

A stupid smile found it’s way onto Magnus’ face at the thought before he could stop it, and without thinking he whispers, as sincerely as he possibly could, words that he hadn't uttered to anyone but Alec in over a century, “Aku cinta kamu, Alexander.”

Alec pulls back, his eyebrows adorably scrunched together in both confusion and curiosity. “What does that mean?”

Magnus smiles, a soft, sweet smile that had Alec’s own heart fluttering. “It means I love you, Alexander.”

The Shadowhunter blinks, momentarily stunned at hearing the words for the first time since they said them, and the fact that _Magnus_ had said them first just made his heart clench all the more.

“I love you too, Mags,” Alec whispered back, uncaring if anyone heard him, or was watching their exchange, as he saw the bright smile on Magnus’ face appear at his words.

He couldn’t bring himself to care about anything, really—not the war that was still obviously brewing within the Shadow World, or the tensions stirring within his Institute, or the danger lurking around every corner for them and the others—all that he could truly bring himself to care about at the moment was the fact that they were together. They were together and in love, and for the first time in all his life spent as a dedicated soldier and fierce warrior, he felt like he had something worth fighting for.

And the look in Magnus’ eyes as the Warlock gazed at him only reassured the Shadowhunter that he was not alone in that realization.


End file.
